A sounding balloon will carry experiments and capsules designed by schools and by the Servet team to the stratosphere
Lumpiaque, in the province of Zaragoza, has been chosen as the launch site after analysing the weather forecasts
The Servet citizen science project will live one of its most eagerly awaited moments this Sunday 25 October: the launch of Servet XII, a sounding balloon that will rise to the stratosphere carrying experiments and capsules designed by schools and by the project team.
Launch site: Lorenzo García Marquina municipal sports hall, Lumpiaque (Zaragoza)
Opening to the public: 10:30
Scheduled launch time: 11:00
Servet is a citizen science project that began in 2017 and brings together a community of people interested in astronautics, space navigation and anything that moves above 12,000 metres above sea level. Its latest mission, Servet XI, reached an altitude of 34,269 metres from Quinto (Zaragoza) last June.
The choice of Lumpiaque is based on the weather forecasts. After analysing them, the team found that the town is in a strategic spot for the balloon’s trajectory, which makes it an ideal place for take-off.
The capsules have been designed with the extreme conditions of the flight in mind: winds of more than 200 km/h, temperatures of around -60 ºC and a landing at about 6 m/s. A tracking system will make it possible to locate them after landing and analyse the data they have collected.
Event open to the public
Anyone interested can come to the sports hall, which will open its doors at 10:30, to see the preparations, talk to the people who designed the capsules and follow the balloon’s path until it returns to earth.
Who makes Servet XII possible
Servet XII is organised by the Aragon Engineering Research Institute (I3A) of the University of Zaragoza and the Ibercivis Foundation. It is funded by the Government of Aragon, with the collaboration of Teconecta. The organisers thank Lumpiaque Town Council for providing the venue and helping to publicise the event.